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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. field — for sport
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. snap — to click
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — a committee
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. stem — to come from
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. mine — for digging
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. field — a subject
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. field — farmland
  22. board — to get on
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. stem — of a plant

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com